As the school year goes on and as your child continues to grow, they will start receiving more work to complete at home. If your child struggles to complete their homework, we have some tips for you!
The space:
Ensure your child has an ideal working space where they can focus. This means limiting any external distractions (i.e. away from the TV) and setting up their furniture to suit their needs. Ensure your child has a space where their chair allows them to sit at the table comfortably while also having their feet on the floor. For children who seek movement, explore using a yoga ball, wobble cushion or tying an elastic band around the chair legs where they can kick and swing their legs against the band safely.
Organisation:
Support your child by building their organisation skills. You may like to use visual schedules to support the routine when coming home (e.g. take out your lunch box and place on the kitchen counter > put your bag next to your learning space > have a drink and a snack > be ready to do homework by sitting at your learning space). Work together and decide what tasks need to be completed first (prioritising) and set timers for each task to improve focus. You may like to write the tasks on a whiteboard to have something visual to be motivated by!
Language:
Children are exposed to new words everyday. So make a list of new vocabulary your child learns on a board or in a dedicated book so they can refer back to it when needed. Talk about the word to expand your child’s understanding and therefore be able to use the word in a range of contexts. For example for ‘Winter’ you might draw rain, clouds, and different warm clothing and state:
“Winter is a time in the year when the weather gets cold. We usually get a lot of rain and have to wear warm clothes like jumpers and pants. In Winter some activities we do are watching movies at home, jumping in puddles, and ice skating.”
Body supports:
Support your child’s need to move by adding in movement breaks after a certain amount of time or when a task is complete. You could do animal walks, yoga poses or animal dances. Check out some fun videos to move to here!
If your child struggles writing for long periods of time, you may like to do some hand exercises before starting to “warm up” your child’s fine motor abilities.
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